• "I am here to say that Japan is already standing shoulder to shoulder with the United States," said the Japan Prime Minister

WASHINGTON: Japan will work together with the United States to maintain the international order, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged in his US congressional speech Thursday.

“Freedom and democracy are currently under threat around the globe,” Kishida said in English in his address at a joint session of the US Congress, mentioning moves to challenge the existing global order by China and others.

The United States, which has played a key role in maintaining the international order, “should not be expected to do it all, unaided and on your own,” Kishida said.

“The people of Japan are with you, side by side, to assure the survival of liberty,” he went on.

Kishida became the fifth Japanese prime minister to deliver a US congressional speech and second to address a joint session of the country’s Congress, both first since the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took the podium in 2015.

“China’s current external stance and military actions present an unprecedented and the greatest strategic challenge, not only to the peace and security of Japan but to the peace and stability of the international community at large,” Kishida said.

After seeking cooperation to solve the issue of North Korea’s abduction of Japanese nationals decades ago, he said that the reclusive state “has also exported its ballistic missiles to support Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, greatly increasing the suffering of the Ukrainian people.”

“I want to address those Americans who feel the loneliness and exhaustion of being the country that has upheld the international order almost single-handedly,” Kishida said, showing understanding for the “heavy burden” their country has carried.

“You are not alone. We are with you,” he also said, stressing Japan’s readiness to share the burden “as the United States’ closest friend.”

“I am here to say that Japan is already standing shoulder to shoulder with the United States,” Kishida observed, citing Japan’s plans to increase the size of its defense budget to 2 pct of gross domestic product and possess counterstrike capabilities, or abilities to attack enemy missile bases. “We first became a regional partner of the United States, and now we have become your global partner.”

Elsewhere in his speech, Kishida touched on Japan’s economic contribution to the United States, emphasizing that the Asian country is “the number one foreign direct investor in the United States.”

He wrapped up his speech by saying, “Bonded by our beliefs, I pledge to you Japan’s firm alliance and enduring friendship.”

JIJI Press